Chapter 609: Black and Blue
Aurora's leg was covered in shades of black and blue. It was far, far worse than when Sav had treated it hours earlier. The healer looked with horror as the other leg was revealed. It was also discolored. The Empress's whole body was an unnatural hue.
"Unless the light of night was playing tricks on me, she did not look like this the last time I saw her," Sav swore as she looked at Brinn.
The elf nodded. She had gotten a brief look at the Empress at their one stop. This was a new development.
"Do you have the herbs you gave her?" Rafa tried to keep his face neutral. But there was genuine concern in his eyes.
Sav reached into her pack and pulled out remnants from the medicines she had administered. Even with her rationing, the two containers were nearly empty. "The patient consumed the rest."
"All of it?!" Rafa's voice cracked in spite of himself.
"Over many hours, but yes. I would not normally give a patient both of those things, but her fever has been so high and her pain so immense, I needed to help manage it. I staggered the administration, I assure you." Sav did not want the doctor to think she had given the medicine all at once. She was more responsible than that.
On the battlefield, Sav would never have given someone everything she had, but this was the Empress. No expense could be spared.
"But you did, in fact, give her all of these herbs?" he clarified.
"Yes," the healer watched Rafa's face turn even more grim.
"That explains it," the doctor rubbed the back of his head as he hurried to the back wall of his clinic.
Numerous canisters lined pristine shelves. Rafa perused them quickly as he explained.
"Each of those is either a pain or fever reducer, and on their own, they do great work. But together..."
Rafa paused as he pulled out a bowl and began to take a dark, leafy plant and grind it with a pestle. He added other ingredients as he worked.
"Together they can make a person's blood too watery."
"I don't understand how that would make her look like a blueberry," Brinn was unable to make the connection.
"From what I have gathered, this woman was jostled on horseback for hours to get here. That kind of trauma would have been rough on her feverish body with just a broken leg. But with the thinner blood, well..." Rafa stopped again.
This time it was to add an exact amount of water to his bowl.
"Her body has become one big bruise," Sav finished the line of thought. "You don't think her insides are bleeding, do you?"
The healer felt sick enough with herself that she might vomit. But she held it together and matted Aurora's brow gently.
"Let's hope not," the doctor answered noncommittally.
Setting down the pestle, Rafa returned to Aurora with the bowl. A fresh green paste was scooped out and pushed into her mouth. The Empress turned her head away in protest.
"What are you trying to do?" Brinn felt a bit of frustration.
The elf knew a bit about elven healing, but it was very different than humans. She needed to know the reasoning behind the doctor's action towards her friend, especially since she had been the one to banish Devrim outside.
Rafa did not look up as he tried to push past Aurora's teeth a second time and failed. "I am trying to get her to consume this. First, we have to get her hydrated and thicken her blood. If we don't, nothing else I do will matter. She will die."
"You need to get that in her body?" Brinn wanted to confirm.
Rafa held out the bowl, and the golden-skinned princess took it. She was glad to have something to do.
"Ok, Rory. Can you hear me? I am putting something in your mouth and you better eat it or else." The elf's tone was gentle in spite of her forceful words. She clamped her fingers into the Empress's cheeks, forcing her teeth open.
In went the paste before Brinn sealed her friend's lips and forced her to chew and swallow. It was a strange maneuver, but effective.
Rafa looked at her approvingly. Feeling her gaze, she snapped her head toward him with a glare.
"I got this, medicine man. She will eat it all. You better get working on the next phase of saving her life. In case you haven't noticed, she still has a fever and probably an infected leg. Get a move on!"
Having always had rather soft-spoken female relatives, Rafa was shocked by Brinn's forceful nature. However, she was correct. They had no time to lose.
The doctor checked the woman's pulse at her wrist. It was very faint.
"Stir the fire and get it going again. I need more light." Rafa told Sav. He moved his way down to her leg. He pursed his lips. "And get some water boiling. I think we will have to reopen this, and I need to clean my tools."
Eager to help, Sav got to work right away. She was desperate to make up for the mistake she had made. Soon the room, which was already comfortable, became toasty warm. A pot of water was placed over the open flame of the fireplace. Soon bubbles would appear on the liquid's surface.
Confident that Sav and Brinn could complete their tasks, Rafa continued to poke and needle at the wound. Although it had stopped bleeding, there was puss forming around the stitches.
"Did the bone need to be set?" the doctor asked.
"It did," Brinn answered while pushing another mouthful of green between her friend's teeth.
"Who did the deed?" he glanced over at Sav. It was unlikely that her thin frame would have had the strength.
"I did," the elf answered briefly. "Is something wrong?"
"No, you did good work. The stitches are done admirably as well." Rafa knew good work when he saw it.
"I cannot take credit for those. The healer made that part look effortless." Brinn would not take the praise for something she did not do.
"I hate to open them. But I think something may have been left behind in her leg." The doctor sighed deeply.
"I checked!" Sav defended herself automatically.
"You would be a terrible healer if you didn't." Rafa snapped, his bedside manner slipping momentarily.
He was frustrated by the healer's lack of knowledge. Surely this woman had been told not to use the herbs together and certainly not in such doses! Much more would have killed this Rory outright.
But the beautiful duneswoman on the table was in very bad shape. Her fever was still high. Which meant without the herbs, her brain would be suffering from the heat.
He heard a stifled sob by the fire. Brinn paused long enough to glare at the doctor.
Rafa lowered his gaze as he cleaned the wound. "I do not think you are a terrible healer. The only reason Rory made it this far is due to your care. After you get the water boiling, bring me some ice from the box out back. If it is melted, get a pitcher with some cold water. Now that I am counteracting what you have done, we need to get her fever down naturally."
Wiping her eyes, Sav hurried out the back door to comply.
"Why do you women feel the need to cry?" Rafa pursed his lips.
"I don't." Brinn's green eyes did not stray from her task, but there was clear judgment in her voice.
"Good. It's distracting." Rafa was disquieted again by the elf's brusqueness.
"I'm finished." The elven princess tilted the empty bowl towards him.
The doctor would have been happy to get half of that into the woman. "Good. Did you see how I made it? Can you make more?"
Brinn did not answer and simply went to work gathering the supplies. Her glistening skin caught the firelight.
Rafa noted its strange, golden hue. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Fitter than I have been in at least a hundred years, why?" Brinn answered casually.
Rafa fell silent. If the lady was going to be sarcastic, he saw no reason to continue with the line of questions.
At last, he felt like he had cleared as much sand as he could from the wound and surrounding area.
When Sav returned with the ice water (it was only partially melted, which was good), she and the doctor took to cooling off Aurora's body as much as possible.
The Empress shivered but also seemed relieved of some of her pain. A mixed blessing.
Rafa paused. "I would like to wait longer for the paste to work, but I do not think we can. Keep feeding her and we will hope it is enough."
Washing his hands, Rafa gave the situation one last evaluation.
It was time to see what was really going on.
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